The Palace of Glass
by unkept promise
Summary: Kaleigh was once rescued by the Kings and Queens. Now she's ready to help them rescue others.
1. Prologue: In The Absence of Pain

This is the first fanfiction I've written, so I'm really excited! I really hope you enjoy it. I would appreciate if you reviewed it, but it's not like I'll jump off the Empire State Building if you don't.

I created this solely for my personal entertainment, I'm not C.S. Lewis so I don't own Narnia. I wish I did.

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**The Palace of Glass**

**Prologue - In The Absence of Pain**

_Seven years earlier_

Mum and Dad and I lived in a little cottage by the Beruna river. Dad had built it himself shortly after he married Mum. It was tiny but gorgeous, and it was home to us. My Dad was a bit of a hermit, as was Mum, so we had no neighbors. Not human, anyway. Every inch of Narnia teemed with life, you just had to know where to look.

My parents didn't understand the need I felt for company, after weeks and weeks with only the two of them. They didn't know of my secret forest friends, the Talking Beasts that I would play with in the woods all day. They didn't know of my secret river friends either, the naiads who would creep up to my window and whisper with me on those sleepless nights.

I was almost ten years old when the Great Storm came. All my forest friends had run off unexpectedly a few days before, as if they knew what would happen. The naiads had disappeared into the water, as they tend to do. It was only my Mum, Dad, and I again. It rained for days, the river rising with every hour until its banks could no longer contain it.

I can remember glancing out the window, and seeing the huge wave of frothy water rushing toward me. I remember Mum racing in and pulling me out of the house, with Dad right behind her. But it was too late. The rest is just a blur, with flashes of clarity here and there.

Screaming. Lots of screaming. Shrill, piercing cries that will forever haunt my dreams.

Freezing cold water. My teeth chattering, crushing my tongue. The taste of blood in my mouth.

Splashing, struggling to swim to safety against the current. Dad dragging me onto a floating piece of debris, fighting to keep his head above the water just long enough to ensure my safety.

Mum's shrieks as Dad slipped under a wave. Her frantic cries as she waited for him to come back up. Her choking sobs when he never did.

My own screams as Mum went searching for Dad. Her head disappearing under the water, then returning to gasp for air, then back down again. She must have found him, because she never came back either.

The numbness as I waited to be rescued. Icicles pierced my thoughts and left my mind empty. I couldn't feel anything at all. I vaguely remember curling up on the soggy boards and letting the river take me where it wished.

Help arrived eventually. It came with the Kings and Queens, who rode up, ready to save whoever needed saving. The Queens in their gorgeous long dresses waited worriedly on the shore, while the Kings jumped in. I recall King Edmund swimming out bravely through the rushing flood to me, even though he was only a year older than myself. He dragged me back to shore, before jumping back in to join the High King Peter in his search for other survivors.

Queen Lucy forced a drop of her legendary healing cordial down my throat, though her sister protested that all I needed was a warm blanket. Once the warmness had spread through my body, I lost the protection from feeling that the cold had given me. The shock hit me hard. I couldn't breathe from the pain. Not the physical effects of the cold water, but the hurt of having lost my parents.

I stood with the river rushing past my muddy feet, screaming at the icy water to return my parents. When the Kings came out empty handed, I begged them to look again. Bless their souls, without a second thought they jumped back into the freezing river. When they came back out again, they wordlessly hugged me tight, letting me sob into their soaking shoulders.

After I had cried my eyes dry, they took me to a nearby village. After making sure that I was in good hands, they had ridden off to rescue other Narnians in need of saving. I hugged them each tight before they left, halfheartedly thanking them for their help. I was so consumed with my loss to be grateful for what I still had.

During the years various kind souls took me in and raised me until I was about fifteen, when I set out on my own. Remembering the kindness of the Kings and Queens in my time of need, I decided to devote my life to helping those in danger. I traveled around Narnia, ridding it of all the evil I could. I dreamed of the day that I would be reunited with my parents, and Aslan himself would thank me for my hard work.


	2. Chapter 1: Deadly Distractions

Welcome back to my story, The Palace of Glass! I hope you enjoy this chapter. Feedback would be greatly appreciated.

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**Chapter 1 - Deadly Distractions**

In my experience, I have found giants to be almost like small children. Most of them aren't all that bright, for one. They're also very clumsy, as if they aren't quite familiar with their own limbs. The most obvious difference between toddlers and giants is size. Giants are, well, giant. Their size it what makes fighting them so difficult. It's like a human against a mosquito. The mosquito might have a sharp, bloodsucking weapon, yet with one swat it can be killed. One lucky swing of a giant's clumsy arm is all it takes to kill a person.

That is why it had taken me so long to get around to ridding Narnia of this particular giant, Starwick. For months he had been tormenting the poor people of Ashfall to no end. He had shown me another childish side of the giants, a much crueler one. Like young heartless boys crushing bugs under their heels, Starwick had found joy in the misery of the villagers. But now my plan was finally ready and I could defeat him at last.

I tightened the belt that held my tunic in place and surveyed the small valley. The people of Ashfall had told me that Starwick came here every afternoon for his nap, and from my observations it appeared to be true. I checked to make sure my sword was still by my waist, and pulled my bow and an arrow out of the quiver on my back. Thundering footsteps shook the earth slightly. He was coming.

I ducked behind a large boulder, peeking around to see when Starwick arrived. The thumps of his feet hitting the ground grew louder and louder, and the ground trembled beneath me. I leaned around the boulder, bow drawn and ready. The rumbling stopped, and the giant loomed above me.

Now! I let the arrow fly. It hit Starwick's body with a muffled _thwack_. I allowed myself a moment to grin in satisfaction before sending another dozen arrows into various parts of his anatomy. By now the giant was writhing in pain and anger. Mostly anger, considering the handful of arrows were nothing more than pins in his huge body.

I leapt out from behind the boulder, shooting as fast as I could while running down the slope. Starwick tried to yank some of the arrows out of his side, but his chubby fingers were too clumsy. He howled in frustration, stomping his foot down. The vibrations of the ground were so strong I found myself thrown into the dirt. I quickly scrambled to my feet, but by now he had spotted me.

A giant's anger can be quite fascinating to witness. The "terrible two's" that parents always seem to dread are nothing compared to the temper tantrums of a giant. It can be most amusing, as long as said anger isn't directed at oneself. Unfortunately, in this case it most definitely was.

Starwick lunged at me, but his meaty hands only grabbed at the air a few feet above my head. I shot an arrow at his wide palm, which distracted him yet again. His surprised shout gave me just enough time to dodge behind a tree. This would be a stupid hiding place if I had been fighting anything but a giant.

I could only see his huge shadow straighten and grow taller, since I was afraid too much movement would catch his attention. He stumbled around the clearing, making puzzled groaning noises as he tried to figure out where I had disappeared to. When his back was turned (as far as I could tell from the shadow, anyway) I leapt back out and started shooting again. An agonized cry rang out, twisting my insides into a knot. Whenever I was forced to kill something, I tried to do it as quickly and painlessly as I could. That just wasn't possible with a giant.

My plan was working, though. The combined pain of dozens of arrows was slowing Starwick down. He swung his arms at me, but with each swing they seemed less and less threatening. It was when he started stumbling a bit, almost drunkenly, that I knew he was ready for the next step in my plan.

I ran under his legs and stood behind him, jumping and shouting. He spun awkwardly, growling at me with an ugly grimace. I continued yelling, calling his attention any way I could. I ran towards the east side of the clearing, turning every few steps to make sure Starwick was still focused on me. He hurried after me as best he could, reeling after each stride. When I passed between the large oak and a boulder, I had to duck under the rope I had tied there. Starwick didn't notice.

I stopped a short distance from there, jumping around and yelling at the giant. He lumbered towards me, never noticing the trap until it was too late. As his feet tangled and he began to fall, I dashed towards him, yanking the rope just so, making him spin and land on his back. The entire valley shook from the impact, and I stumbled to the ground several times as I tried to reach the giant.

The fall had winded Stawick, so he lay motionless just long enough for me to climb up on him, draw my sword, and hold it over his heart. Before I plunged it down, I paused just long enough to murmur the same words I did every time I was forced to end a life.

"Aslan, forgive me. I believe this to be your will. Let death be punishment enough for this creature and provide him with a long and happy life after death with you."

I squeezed my eyes shut, readying myself for the terrible deed, and held the sword high with both hands, ready to plunge it down into Starwick's heart.

"Hey!"

The cry startled me. My eyes flew open in shock, and quickly located the source of the voice. It was a boy about my age, standing by Starwick's feet. He looked somewhat perplexed. I guess it wasn't every day he saw a girl in men's clothes about to kill a giant. The way his dark hair fell over his eyes tugged at my memory, but I didn't have the time to figure out why.

"Hey!" he shouted again, this time sounding more concerned than confused. He pulled a sword from his own belt and began running towards me, but he was too late.

Starwick's hand swung into my vision, and before I could react it connected. I felt my body hurtling through the air, and heard a scream. My own. A sickening _thump_ reached my ears as I hit one of the many boulders scattered throughout the valley. My lips parted to release a strangled noise as pain flooded my body. Then everything went black.


	3. Chapter 2: Odd Acquaintances

Welcome back to TPOG! I hope you enjoy the newest chapter. Don't forget to review!

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**Chapter 2 - Odd Acquaintances**

"My Lady! My Lady, are you alright?"

A voice seemed to pierce through the layers of cold darkness that enveloped me. What startled me out of my deep, unnatural slumber was the way the voice was addressing me. _My Lady?_ Since when was I a lady? Even the voice seemed hesitant to call me that, though I can hardly blame him. If it weren't for the long braid that hung down my back or the semblance of a chest I had, then it would have been impossible to tell that I was even female.

"By the Lion, please," the voice whispered, words drenched in guilt and hope. "Please please please please..."

I made an effort to twitch. I had taken tumbles before, I was used to the pain. Or so I told myself. Finally, I had clawed a hole in the fog that surrounded my mind. I blinked in the bright sunlight, groaning as the ache of my bruised bones made itself known.

"Thank Aslan," the voice murmured, before directing itself at me. "My Lady, can you hear me? Are you alright?"

I managed a nod. He breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back on his heels, giving me space to sit up. The process was agonizing and slow, but I tried to hide my misery from the stranger, who looked like he might pass out any minute from worry. As soon as I was fully upright and leaning heavily against the boulder I had crashed into, he started babbling like a nervous faun.

"I'm so sorry, I was just wondering what you were doing and then before I could do anything that giant gathered his wits and next thing I knew you were lying there and you weren't moving so I was afraid that maybe..."

"Don't worry about it, I'm fine," I assured him as he trailed off. I looked behind him, seeing Starwick motionless on the ground. "What about him?"

"Oh, I took care of him."

I nodded, grimacing as I tried to take a step forward. He immediately jumped to help me. The way he took my arm was a gesture foreign to the village boys I had known, though he was dressed like one. In fact, everything about him seemed noble, though at first glance he looked anything but.

"The villagers should come by shortly to bury him," I said when we stood by Starwick's dead body.

"Truly an honorable deed," he said with approval. I raised an eyebrow at the choice of words. He seemed to realize what he had said and checked himself. "I mean, good. That's good."

We took a couple slow steps out of the valley before I remembered something important. "I'm Kaleigh. Who are you?"

A flash of recognition came to his eyes at my name, but he shook it away. "Nice to meet you, Kaleigh. I'm Ed."

"Ed," I repeated, feeling the same memory being tugged as when I had first seen him. "Is it short for something?"

"Yes," he answered curtly. He obviously wasn't going to tell me what for, so I awkwardly pushed the subject away.

"Pray tell, 'Ed', what were you doing so far from Ashfall on this fine day?"

"I intended to defeat the giant I had heard rumors of, but I found a Lady - nay, a _girl_ - had beaten me to it."

He said it with such a mischievous smile all I could manage in self defense was a weak shove. He laughed at my attempt.

"Is that all you've got? How did you manage to tame the giant with such weakness?"

I gave an embarrassed laugh, pretending what he had assumed was true. Then, once he seemed convinced I was really nothing more than a lucky peasant girl, I jumped at him. With a surprised _oomph_ he tumbled to the grass. He attempted to get up, but he found I was indeed stronger than I looked. I giggled victoriously as he stared up at me with surprised defeat.

But he was using my own tricks to get me now. As soon as my grip loosened, he threw me off. Just as quickly as I had pinned him, I found myself trapped between the ground and the mysterious Ed I had just met.

We continued to wrestle in this way all the way down the hill to Ashfall, earning a few odd looks as we rolled into the town. We lay side by side, panting. When I finally caught my breath I couldn't stop laughing. After a moment Ed joined my hysterical giggling.

Once we had settled down, he propped himself up on one elbow and looked down at me. "Kaleigh?"

"Yes?" I sat up and tried to dust my tunic off to no avail.

"Why don't you come with me and meet my sister? I bet she has dinner. She's an amazing cook." Ed grinned at me, wiggling his eyebrows as if to tempt me. I snorted at his attempts but had to admit the offer sounded good. It had been a long time since I'd eaten something home cooked by someone who actually knew what they were doing.

"I guess so," I answered, trying not to sound too eager. "Just for a bit."

"Excellent!"

Grinning like a child that's just made a new friend, he grabbed my arm and started pulling me behind him. Already drooling at the thought of the wonderful meal that potentially awaited me, I was content to be dragged along.

Ed and his sister were staying in a small abandoned cabin in the woods near Ashfall. I had noticed it a few times, but I had never gone inside. It was actually quite clean and cozy, with delicious smells thick in the air.

"Lu!" Ed called out. "I brought company!"

A girl a few years younger than myself popped through a door, all smiles. She wiped her hands on her simple yet expensive looking dress and brushed her messy golden hair out of her eyes. Like Ed, she carried herself as if she were royal, despite all evidence to the contrary.

"I'm Kaleigh," I said, trying in vain to match her huge smile.

"Nice to meet you," the girl said, wrapping me in a warm hug. "I'm Lucy."

"Like the Queen," I observed. I thought nothing of my comment, but I noticed Ed and Lucy exchange a quick glance. Lucy raised an eyebrow and Ed answered with an almost imperceptible shake of his head.

Lucy. Ed. Ed. Lucy. It all clicked. I felt my eyes widen and my jaw drop, and I noticed Ed's dismayed look when he saw my face.

"By the Mane," I whispered, then louder. "By the Mane!"

"It's not what-"

I cut him off. "Aslan help me, it's the King and Queen. King Edmund the Just and Queen Lucy the Valiant. By the Mane."

Lucy- _Queen_ Lucy gave her brother a pointed look and a small shrug. King Edmund was holding his head in his hands and leaning heavily against the wall. He looked very disappointed. Meanwhile I was pacing around the room, babbling to myself.

"The King and Queen just invited me to dinner. Dinner! Me! In an abandoned cabin! Dinner!" Then a horrid thought came to me.

"By the Lion, I pushed the King of Narnia down a hill!"


	4. Chapter 3: New Friends

First of all, I want to apologize for how long it took me to update. I've been really busy with school and work. But here it is, at last! I hope you enjoy, and don't forget to review and tell me what you think!

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**Chapter 3 - New Friends**

The next few seconds were really loud and confusing. I was still babbling about meeting King Edmund and Queen Lucy, the Queen was demanding to know all about our adventures, and the King kept saying he could explain. This went on for a few minutes until we each realized that the others weren't listening, and there was a sudden silence as everyone shut up.

Queen Lucy broke the silence first, with a steady voice that came from years of experience peacemaking. "Yes, Kaleigh, we are a King and Queen. But we'd really prefer if you just called us Lucy and Edmund. Please."

"But, your majesties, why are you hiding who you really are?" I asked, still confused. "Don't you want people to know that you're royalty?"

The Queen, or Lucy as she had asked me to call her, stepped forward and wrapped an arm around my waist. When she stood right beside me I could see she was a bit taller than I was, though she was obviously a couple years younger. She steered me away from her brother and stage whispered an explanation to me.

"It's all Edmund's doing, really. See, he was courting this girl. We all hated her, but he insisted we would love her once we got to know her. You know how brothers are with their lady friends." At this, she looked to me for confirmation. I nodded, though I honestly had no idea. "Anyway, we were right and the girl wasn't any good. All she wanted was Ed's title. He took the blow pretty hard."

"You do realize I'm still right here," Edmund said dryly. His sister ignored him.

"He was disgusted, and decided that he didn't want to be a King anymore. That decision lasted all of ten seconds, but he still hated the fact that maybe his friends might not like him so much as his crown. So he worked up a plan to travel Narnia as a common person, just to get away from it all. I came with him for fun. And that, Kaleigh, is the answer to your questions."

"But we were caught and now it's all ruined," Edmund pouted. Lucy rolled her eyes.

"Do shut up, Ed," the young Queen said, her gentle tone of voice contradicting her words. "Dinner's getting cold."

With that, she hooked her arm around mine and led me to another room in the cabin. There was a small wooden table with a couple of mismatched chairs on either end. What caught my eye was the pile of food on the table. There was what looked like a fried chicken as the centerpiece, surrounded by plates of potatoes and salads and bread. While the meal didn't look like any I had ever seen, it still looked absolutely delicious.

"Sit, sit," Lucy said, practically shoving me into a chair. "Ed, you can eat standing, right? It gives Peter indigestion."

"I'll be fine," Edmund grumbled.

"Good," Lucy said as she bustled about the table, piling food onto plates. "I hope you like this, Kaleigh. It's not exactly Narnian."

"Are these recipes from Spare Oom?" I asked, remembering the old tales of the Kings and Queens.

Lucy set an overflowing plate in front of me and handed another to her brother before sitting down with her own. "Yes, Susan taught me a few."

"And somehow the student wound up a better cook than the teacher," Edmund said through a mouthful of chicken.

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Lucy scolded him, her lips bunching into a little frown. "It's not polite."

"Yes mum," he replied, rolling his eyes.

I couldn't help but smile at the playful teasing between the two. I had always thought it would be lovely to have a sibling, but the circumstances had kind of made that impossible. A brief flicker of grief reminded me of my first encounter with the Kings and Queens.

"I don't know if you recall, about seven years ago, the Great Storm. There was a flood in Beruna," I began.

"I remember," Edmund said, but Lucy shook her head.

"Sorry. The first years of our reign are mostly just a blur to me. I was so young and everything seemed to happen at once. We were still just getting used to being kings and queens, and there were so many problems to deal with, especially after the time of the Witch."

"Well, you two, and your brother and sister, rescued a little girl from the river," I said, searching their faces.

"I remember," Edmund repeated. "Her house washed away and her parents didn't survive."

"Well... that was me," I said, even though his expression told me he had already guessed that.

"Oh, how lovely!" Lucy squealed. "We hardly ever meet old friends again, what a wonderful surprise!"

"I remember," Ed said for the third time, but with a smile on his face.

I had been waiting all my life for a chance to thank my saviors, but now that it was happening, I wasn't sure what to say.

"I just wanted to thank you for saving my life," I said at last. "Thank you very much."

"It's just what we do," Edmund said with a little shrug, but his cheeks looked a bit pink.

Lucy was still grinning from ear to ear. "We love helping people!"

"I guess that's also why I wanted to thank you," I said. "Because of what you did for me, I started helping others. That's why I was trying to defeat Starwick today, when I met you, Ed."

"Starwick? Was that the giant's name?" Edmund asked. I nodded.

"Are you sure he wasn't a Buffin?" she asked her brother, concern all over her face. "You know how lovely the Buffins are."

"I'm pretty sure it wasn't a Buffin, Lu," Ed answered in the tone one uses for very young children.

"I suppose not," Lucy said.

Once we finished the meal, I helped Lucy with the dishes while Ed did his very best to be underfoot. Then we sat around the fire for a bit, drinking some of the wine they had brought from Cair Paravel and talking. Laughing with my new friends, I felt at home for the first time in years.


	5. Chapter 4: Firefight

It's been forever, I know! I've been extremely busy in real life, but that's no excuse. There is also no excuse for the quality of this chapter, it sucks. Basically, I realized recently that I hadn't updated this in forever, and in my guilt I decided to whip up the latest chapter as quickly as I could. I didn't even get my amazing betas to check it for me. I'll fix it up and replace it later, I promise, I just couldn't bear to keep you all waiting any longer, assuming I still have any readers after this huge hiatus.

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**Chapter 4 - Firefight**

Three days later found me in Hartchase, a neighboring village of Ashfall. I was still with Edmund and Lucy, who had invited me to join their travels. Never one to pass up an adventure, I had readily agreed. Hartchase was just a stop on the way to the Shuddering Wood , though. Apparently the two wanted to visit some old friends there, though how they expected to do that without revealing their identity was beyond me.

"Kaleigh, look!" Lucy squealed behind me. I set down the dagger I had been inspecting and turned to Lucy.

Hartchase was said to have one of the best markets in the area, and Lucy had quickly dragged us to see it. I had been reluctant at first. Shopping seemed like such a girly thing, and I was anything but girly. But the Hartchase market proved to have all kinds of fascinating things. Already I had counted three Phoenix eggs, eighteen giant rhubarbs from Ettinsmoor, and seven unicorn hairs.

But right now Lucy wasn't interested in any of that. She was grinning at me and holding up what at first glance looked like miles of pink silk. I leaned in closer and realized that it was a dress.

"Isn't it gorgeous?" she was saying. "Susan would simply _die_ if she saw this! If only it were a bit larger I would buy it for her, but I really don't think this would fit her..."

She trailed off and we both stared at the dress, Lucy admiring it and me wondering why she thought it was so pretty. It was just some pink fabric with a few sparkly ribbons sewn on to it, for Aslan's sake. Before I could think much more about it, Edmund's voice made us both look up.

"Lucy! Kaleigh!" He shouted, twisting through the maze of people. We had lost him to a bake shop about half an hour earlier but now he was making his way towards us. "You'll never guess!"

Lucy let the dress drop and we both ran towards Edmund. We met in the middle of the crowd after much pushing and shoving past other shoppers. Ed's face was practically glowing with excitement.

"Well, what is it?" Lucy asked.

"You'll never guess," he said again.

"By the mane, just spit it out!" I almost yelled in frustration. A week ago I never would have dreamed of talking to a king this way, but after the past few days I had almost forgotten he and Lucy were royal. They just seemed like any other friends. I hoped they didn't mind me teasing them too much.

"Okay, okay!" Ed was saying, throwing up his hands in mock surrender. "Fine then. I'll tell you."

He paused dramatically while we rolled our eyes at him.

"It's a dragon."

For a split second Lucy and I just gaped at him before we both let out little shrieks.

"A real dragon?"

"In Narnia?"

"Here!"

"Now?"

He just laughed at our reactions. "Yes, here, now! I heard about it in the bake shop. It just flew into the forest on the outskirts of town this morning."

Lucy and I squealed again. A dragon! As far as I knew, there hadn't been a dragon sighting in Narnia for decades. This was truly a once in a lifetime experience. It was a shame that a dragon being here meant it was probably terrorizing people and therefore we would probably have to kill it, but at the moment I was trying to ignore that.

"Where?" I asked.

"Just over the hill, between here and Greenyard."

The words had barely left Edmund's mouth when Lucy and I burst into a run in that general direction. It was only after a few minutes of him chasing after us and yelling that we realized we had no weapons.

Embarrassed, we followed Edmund back to the inn. We gathered our swords, bows, arrows, and various other weapons. Lucy changed into a more practical dress, and I once again resisted the urge to ask her why she didn't simply wear trousers. I knew I was probably the only female in Narnia that did not possess a single dress, but you had to admit it was much more practical.

We wanted to race all the way to the dragon but Edmund make us stick to a brisk walk, saying we should save our energy for the actual battle. We glared at him, but obeyed. He gave us a cocky grin and led the way.

I heard the dragon before I saw it. It wasn't roaring or growling or whatever other noises dragons are supposed to make. It was a different sound I recognized, the whoosh and crackle of flames. A few steps later we felt waves of heat billowing across the grass and into our faces.

"Have you ever been in a firefight before, Kaleigh?" Ed asked, his superior expression slightly marred by concern.

"Yes," I said simply, remembering the forest fire eight months ago. Many dryads had died before I had even gotten there.

"We need water," Lucy said. Edmund and I both nodded. To kill the dragon, first we had to kill his fire.

"I hear there's a stream to the left," Ed informed us. "I got them to leave some buckets there for us."

We followed him towards a small brook almost hidden among some trees. We quickly filled the buckets we found and headed towards the hill.

At the top of the hill we all froze. None of us had really been prepared to even see a real dragon, much less fight it. For one, it was enormous. Its body was bigger than any house I had ever lived in. Its wings were held to its body, and I could only imagine how far they stretched out.

The sun hit the dragon's scales and they shimmered slightly, seeming to change color every time you blinked. It had a single horn on its nose, not like a unicorn's horn, but shorter and thicker. Legend said a dragon's eyes reflected the fire within, and it appeared to be true. Its eyes glowed bright orange.

And they were looking right at us.

"Run!" Lucy shouted, and we all instantly ducked for cover as a blast of fire hit the spot where we had been a moment before. I watched as the grass blackened, then a few flames began to spread. Without thinking I splashed one of my buckets of water on the area.

"Kaleigh!" Ed yelled across the clearing. The sound and movement of the water had helped the dragon locate me.

I screamed and threw the other bucketful of water in front of me, successfully extinguishing the stream of fire midair, but also leaving me defenseless. I glanced back at Lucy, who was with Edmund. She only held one bucket, the other had been dropped in the scramble. Ed still had both of his buckets.

The dragon was still staring at me, sizing me up, planning its next move. Stupid dragons, I thought, of course they had to be intelligent and cunning. If only all creatures were as dumb as giants.

I fumbled for my sword and held it up, hoping my face wasn't betraying the fact that my courage had been liquified. The dragon looked at me and its snake like tongue flickered out. Had it just licked its lips? I gulped.

But it ignored me and turned to Lucy and Edmund, who had been trying to edge their way towards me. The dragon let out a puff of fire in their direction, which they both simultaneously tried to put out, wasting two buckets of water when the flames didn't even reach them.

I realized what the dragon was doing at the same time Ed did. In a second he had poured some water over his sister, some over himself, and was dumping the rest on me. At the same time the dragon slowly lifted itself onto its hind legs and spewed fire on the ground, twisting around until there was a circle of flames. We were trapped.

Lucy fingered her bow but realized we were too close for arrows to do enough damage, so she drew her sword instead. She had told me that she wasn't as good as she would like with the blade, because she and Susan had focused most of their training on archery at the request of Peter and Edmund. Amused by their overprotectiveness, the Queens had obliged. But now I could see on her face that she wished she had more knowledge of the sword.

Edmund tossed the empty bucket aside and held up his own sword. It had been a brilliant idea to soak us in water, but even so I could already feel the blistering heat drawing closer. How long would we last, trapped in a circle of fire with a dragon?

The dragon was hunched back down on all fours, shifting from left to right as it examined us. We had to act before it had time to. With a yell, I jumped into the air, landing precariously on its shoulder. I plunged my sword down, as hard as I could. Even when I used all my strength, the long blade just barely punctured the tough skin. But thick, dark blood bubbled up, and I had a moment of satisfaction before I was flung aside.

The dragon loomed over me, but before it could even open its mouth, Lucy drove her sword into its foot. It roared in pain and turned away from me and toward her. Before it quite reached her, Ed slashed his sword along the dragon's side.

Between the three of us we kept this up for about ten minutes. We kept the dragon too busy to harm any of us until we were panting from exhaustion. Even though it was bleeding from several wounds, the dragon showed no signs of slowing down. The fire still crackled and the flames inched closer to us. We were still damp, but now it was mostly from the sweat that dripped down our faces.

I didn't know how much longer we could keep it up. I tried not to think about it as I ran toward the dragon. Just as Lucy sliced at its tail, I slipped in a small puddle of sticky hot dragon blood. I cried out as I fell, not so much out of pain or fear but because I wouldn't be able to reach the dragon in time to distract it from attacking the valiant queen.

It spun unnaturally fast toward her as I watched in horror. Lucy's face fell as she realized no one was coming to her rescue and she somehow managed to put on a brave face. She let her sword drop and pulled a tiny dagger out of her belt, holding it defiantly at the dragon. I was confused, but all I could think was how valiant the young queen truly was.

"Hey!" Ed's shout made the dragon turn it's large head toward him.

With a loud battle cry that, without any words, was no more than a yell, he held his sword out and ran into the dragon's open mouth, jamming the blade down the beast's throat. I looked away as blood sprayed everywhere, unsure if it was Edmund's or the dragon's.

Neither of us screamed. For a second we both just stood there, paralyzed. Then Lucy, face whiter than the Witch's, ran forward, hand already grabbing for her healing juice. I scrambled to join her, and together we managed to heave the monster's huge head away to reveal her brother.

King Edmund lay on the ground bathed in blood, a ghastly image. Lucy whimpered, and I swallowed a lump that had suddenly appeared in my throat. Then his eyes blinked open. Lucy burst into relieved tears. I awkwardly patted her shoulder, then reminded her that her brother needed our help.

A few seconds was all it took for the potion to revive the just king, and soon he sat up cautiously, grinning at us. Queen Lucy launched herself into his arms, and the two siblings held each other for a very long time. I stood and silently watched, feeling a prick deep in my stomach. I had never had anyone like this, anyone to care. I wrapped my own arms around myself and named the feeling. Envy. I was jealous.

Before I could dwell on the thought much more, I heard a shout just beyond the wall of flame that encased us, followed by a splash. I jumped back as water hissed through the fire, calming the blaze. It was followed by several more, and as the fire died down I saw a group of villagers holding empty buckets. They cheered when they saw the dead dragon.

I smiled my gratitude at them for freeing us of our fiery prison, then turned to the king and queen. They stood side by side, waving at the villagers. Lucy leaned against Ed, ignoring the fact that he was still drenched in sticky red blood. She turned and saw me standing alone, then waved me over.

It took me a second to realize what she wanted me to do, and in a heartbeat I was beside them. I let the queen wrap her arm around my waist, and then the three of us were together. Just like that, I knew it was over. I wasn't alone anymore. I wasn't alone.


End file.
